Jaguar XJ-S V12 Convertible

History

Launched in 1975, Jaguar's XJ-S was never envisaged as a direct replacement for the E-Type. More a grand tourer than an out and out sports car, it was designed to cruise across continents rather than blast down back roads. However, it was to be another 13 years before the car was available in convertible form, partly due to unfounded fears that impending American crash legislation would make such cars unsaleable.

Finally introduced at the 1988 Geneva Motor Show, the long awaited full convertible featured a reinforced floorpan, frameless doors and sophisticated electric hood complete with heated glass rear window. Underpinned by the same all round independent coil-sprung suspension and power assisted rack and pinion steering as its fixed head siblings, the soft-top came with anti-lock brakes as standard. Despite the hefty price tag of ?40,000 a waiting list was quick to form.

Bought new from HA Fox Jaguar of Cheltenham in February 1989, this particular XJ-S Convertible had just one owner until 2004 when it was bought by the current vendor. Always garaged and always serviced by HA Fox it is still in very good condition throughout and is said to drive extremely well. Everything works as it should including the electrically operated hood. The indicated mileage of 98,418 is believed to be correct.

The original full service history was unfortunately lost at the change of ownership but duplicate records from HA Fox and a supporting letter from the first owner confirm that the car has been properly maintained from new. With a fresh MOT and having covered less than 2000 miles since the last service was carried out, this supremely fast and elegant GT is ready to jump in and enjoy.